Ancient Treasure
by Lysia
Summary: Word has broken loose of a vast, ancient treasure hidden somewhere in Hyrule, and it suddenly becomes a race against time to see who will get to it first. (2004 - This story is undergoing a massive re-write so it will be quite different when finished.)
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE  
  
The young soldier winced as the tip of a sword touched his throat.  
"Tell me where it is!" demanded a tall figure; a man dressed completely in black, with a black hood over his face that concealed his identity.  
"I tell you, I don't know!" the soldier replied desperately. The tall man moved to his left, and pointed the sword at the next soldier. All twelve Hylian soldiers in the unit had been tied up, and were kneeling in a straight line. Surrounding them were several more black men, all with an impressive array of weaponry.   
"You tell me, or would you all like to die?" the tall dark man sneered as he pointed his sword at the person who happened to the unit leader.   
"Honestly, sir, we do not know of what it is that you are looking for," the leader pleaded in a bid to save his unit.  
"Nonsense! You will tell me now!"  
"I would tell you right away if I knew."  
"How can you have not heard of the map? It has the potential for great riches. I know you are protecting it, I know! Answer!"  
"I am sorry..."  
"So am I. Number Two?"  
"Yes?" Another tall, solidly built man with a gruff voice stepped forwards.  
"You know what to do."  
"Yes sir."  
  
At once, the seven black men moved outside the small hut, leaving the soldiers tied up inside. Once his men were safe, Number Two lit the fuses of four bombs that were placed outside the four corners of the rectangular hut. As soon as the fuses were lit, the black men sprinted as fast and as far away as they could get from the hut. They ran with their backs to the enormous explosion that went up behind them moments later.  
  
Inside the hut, each solider scrambled desperately to escape the intense heat that instantly surrounded them. This was hard with their hands bound firmly behind their backs. The youngest of the unit, who had been in line next to his leader, had managed to slip his legs through his arms so that his arms were now in front just after the men had gone outside. He managed to shield his face with his arms, and somehow did an adrenaline-powered leap through the burning window. He soared straight through the fire and rolled onto the grass outside. His short blonde hair was on fire, and he banged his head hard on the ground in a bid to put out the flames. It worked, however it left him with a spectacular lump. The fireball seemed to expand out from the hut, and the soldier scrambled to his feet and began to run away. He saw that he was the only man from his unit outside. The soldier did not stop running until he reached a large boulder. Exhaustion and injury got the better of him, and he collapsed to the ground. With his joined arms, he felt inside the coat of his thick soldiers' uniform, and felt for the thick, old piece of paper. It was still there. The deep sense of relief blocked out the physical pain, and the soldier was able to fall into a deep sleep.  
  



	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE  
  
A young girl, about seventeen years of age sat by the edge of a large pool, eating her lunch. Her feet were dipped in the water, and she gazed thoughtfully at the beautiful scenery around her. It was the time of day that Lyla looked forwards to the most. She was allowed fifteen minutes a day of break, to eat. There would have been no break at all, except that her boss, Kormand Delfire believed that if his servants ate, they would be stronger to do more work for him.   
"You like the pool, do you?"   
Lyla looked up to see the ugly face of one of Delfire's "slavedrivers", as the servants called them.  
"Well, why don't you clean it then?"  
The next thing Lyla knew was that she was falling forwards into the water. Her naturally quick reflexes enabled her to stand in the cold, waist deep water before she went under, however the ends of her waist-length brown hair were now dripping wet, as were her light clothes. She heard a soft "plop" to her left, and looked to see a net sinking slowly in the water. Stretching out her arm, Lyla caught it before it could hit the bottom.  
"Make it crystal clear. Delfire likes it that way." The ugly man lumbered off down the path, and Lyla thought he was probably going to see who else was around to torment.   
  
Actually, Lyla was a fairly optimistic person, and she didn't mind being in the pool, even with her clothes on. She had always wanted to swim in it, and now here was her chance. Holding the net out in front of her so it would catch any stray leaves, she dived underwater and swam along the bottom of the pool. The water was cold, but it felt refreshing as Lyla streamed through it. Because she hadn't had much experience swimming, she had to surface frequently to enable herself to take a breath. The cool water made her feel clean and revitalised. Lyla swam as she worked, and soon the pool was free from debris. However, after some time the wind began to pick up, and as it blew it sent shivers running through her body. Reluctantly she climbed out of the pool, which only made her feel colder. Shivering, she ran several hundred meters to the mansion, where she huddled in a corner, out of the way of the wind, until she had begun to dry off.  
***  
  
Miles away, in the deep forest, a young boy was also swimming. He was quite a strong swimmer, who loved to dive. Standing over the edge of the pond was his best friend, a childlike looking girl.  
"Throw another one!" the boy, Link, said, surfacing with a triumphant look on his face as he raised his arm in the air to reveal a Deku Nut. The girl, Saria, grinned, and threw another. Deku Nuts were heavy enough to sink quite fast, and they made for a great item to dive for. Saria watched as her friend took a deep breath and dived under the murky water. While Link was under the water, Saria glanced up, and saw, through the thick canopy of the forest, that the sky had suddenly become very dark. She looked back at the pond and waited for Link to return at any second now. She waited... and waited... and waited. Link had been gone for a long time now, a lot longer than it had taken him before. Saria stared expectedly at the water, but still there was nothing more than a few bubbles that rose upwards and broke on the surface. She began to get worried. Maybe he had become entangled in something underwater, and couldn't get up... or maybe... More and more bubbles floated upwards, and then suddenly there was an almighty splash. Saria jumped back, away from the water's edge.  
  
There was a loud gasping noise, and then Link said, "Were you worried?" He began to laugh, a laugh that sounded awfully distorted because he was also trying to catch his breath.  
"Link, really, that wasn't funny. What if something really had happened to you?" Saria said, not attempting to hide the fact that she'd fallen for his act.  
"But wasn't I under for ages? I've been practicing holding my breath, and that was the longest I've ever done it for!" He swum over to the edge of the pond and climbed out. Saria moved out of the way so that he wouldn't drip all over her.  
"You think you're so funny," she said, however Link didn't hear her because all of the sudden the heavens let loose with an enormous crack of thunder. Both of them jumped because it was so loud and so unexpected.   
"Wow," said Link after a second.  
Saria, who was quite afraid of thunderstorms didn't agree. "We'd better get home soon, because it's going to pour," she said.  
"Okay," replied Link, but no sooner had they turned around there was another crash of thunder, and immediately it began to rain. The droplets were large and fell fast, stinging Saria and Link wherever they struck. Link began to sprint, and Saria did the same, and they ran back through the forest while shielding their faces with their arms. The rain came down harder, but Link and Saria continued to run in the blinding rain. Link nearly tripped on a tree root that he didn't see, and both nearly crashed into several trees along the way. Finally they entered the clearing that was the Kokiri Forest, and they made a mad dash for Saria's house. They arrived there, saturated and out of breath.  
  
When Saria had caught her breath, she grabbed two towels off a shelf and threw one at Link. They dried as much of the water off as they could, but their clothes were still waterlogged, and cold.   
"I think I'll run home and change," yelled Link over the thunder. He walked over to the doorway, took a deep breath and sprinted out into the rain, which was now harder than ever.  
  
Thank goodness Link's house wasn't far from Saria's, however he was even more wet than before when he arrived. He quickly climbed up the ladder, and then once he was inside he quickly peeled off his wet clothes, dried himself off, and then put on a fresh, clean, and most importantly, dry tunic. The one thing Link hated the most was the feeling of wet shoes, and his boots were absolutely saturated. They were the only pair he owned at the moment, and he would just have to wait until they dried. Now that Link was feeling dry and warm again, he realised that he was really hungry. It was mid afternoon, and so Link just decided to eat an apple. He picked out the largest one from his fruit bowl and bit down hard. In just a few seconds, the apple was gone, and now Link was bored. The rain prevented him from going outside, and it was still coming down too hard for him to go back to Saria's. He went outside and stood on the sheltered part of his porch and watched the spectacular lightning show in the sky above. As he watched, a particularly bright jagged forked raced downwards. Link's eyes followed it, and he watched it hit a tree not far from the Kokiri Forest. It was close enough for him to hear the loud crack and see the little fire that was left behind after part of the tree fell to the ground. The fire had no chance against the fierce rain. Link hoped that the lightning wouldn't hit the Kokiri Forest.  
  
***  
  
In the distance, Lyla heard the low growling sound of thunder. She hoped that Delfire or the slavedrivers wouldn't make her work out in the rain. The wind picked up further, and although it was cold it soon dried out her thin clothes. Her hair remained partially wet, but because it was so long it always took a while to dry. Lyla used a couple of ties from around her wrist to first pull her hair into a ponytail, and then she deftly wove it into a long plait. She walked around he perimeter of the mansion until she reached the entrance. Actually, mansion wasn't the right word to use. It was more like a mini-palace, yet it was still huge. Kormand Delfire was an important man in Hyrule, running a building company, Delfire Construction. The King of Hyrule often hired his men for important tasks, however Delfire himself never did any actual work. He sat there raking in the money while his employees laboured for ten-hour days. Lyla thought that he was disgusting because he lived it up by getting everyone else to do his work for him. She wished that she could leave, but at least the job provided her with a place to stay, and some money, however small the amount. Money had never been important to her.  
  
As she walked inside, she was greeted by some loud shouting coming from within. Lyla paused to listen; however before she could make out the words, another slavedriver approached her.   
"You," he said. "Lyl. Get in the kitchen. The master's havin' guests tonight, and you can waiter. There's an apron on the bench, put that on and then Lonnie'll tell you what to do."  
Lyla looked at him and thought that he was actually quite good looking. That is, if he wasn't a slavedriver and didn't have such an awful personality.  
"Okay," she said, turning away and walking down the hall towards the kitchen.  
  
"First set these on the table," said Delfire's cook, Lonnie. She was also a servant, who was harassed by the slavedrivers, yet in turn she loved to lord it over anyone who was working in the kitchen with her. The plump, stern cook handed Lyla a basked containing many knives, forks and spoons. Lyla took it into the grand dining room where eleven places had been set up. She quickly lay the cutlery out on the table and returned the empty basket to the kitchen. Lonnie opened the oven to check on her roast. Inside, Lyla saw a cucco, which was a type of chicken. It is known throughout Hyrule that it is hard to kill one of these birds without being attacked by its friends, and to give it to someone to eat was considered a great honour. Delfire must really want to impress his guests. Yet Lyla realised that her boss wouldn't care if one of his servants got attacked. A great honour from Delfire would be if the man went and killed the bird himself.   
"It's almost ready," said Lonnie, "And the guests have arrived."  
Sure enough, Lyla could hear the sounds of people talking and laughing in the dining room next door.  
"Here, serve this," Lonnie ordered, shoving a large glass decanter in one hand and a stack of glasses in the other. In the decanter was a yellow drink, probably something expensive and exotic. Lonnie gave Lyla a push towards the dining room, causing her to stumble and almost trip.   
"Don't push me!" muttered Lyla under her breath. "I know how to walk myself!"  
  
"Ah, excellent, the drinks have arrived!" Delfire's middle aged face lit up when Lyla entered the room. Then he turned back to his guests and began talking with them as if she wasn't even there. Silently, Lyla went around to each guest, placed a glass in front of them, poured the drink, and moved on. Delfire paid absolutely no attention to her, however, of course she was really there, listening to every word that was being said.  
"So Kormand," said a tall, thin man. Lyla thought that he looked strange, almost comical in a sinister kind of way. He had a shiny bald head and a huge smile, yet his eyes were narrow and positioned close together, giving him an evil appearance. The other guests at the table waited eagerly to hear what was about to be said.  
"I cannot wait any longer," the man continued. "Was the project successful?"  
"The building project?" asked Delfire with a playful smile. Lyla didn't get it.  
"Don't push it Kormand. You know I mean the other project."  
"Relax Zol," Delfire laughed. "I was just getting to that." The bald man, Zol, apparently didn't think it was a laughing matter. He looked deadly serious.  
Although Lyla had already poured the drinks, she hovered in the hallway just outside the dining room. She wondered what kind of 'other' business Delfire was up to. She had heard several rumors, and now saw her chance to find out.  
"Did you get the map?" Lyla heard Zol ask.  
"Well, like we arranged, when we heard the rumors that the army had it, we immediately sent our men, under the command of our Number One, Bowan Kirt, over here, to intercept them."  
"Yes sir," said a new voice.  
"Bowan tells me that none of the Hylian soldiers would give up the map, so we threatened them with death. Even in the last moments before the bombs went off, they were silent."  
Zol cut in, "Wasn't it a bit careless to use bombs? What if the map had been blown to pieces, or it had caught fire?"  
"Sorry," said both Delfire and Kirt. Then Delfire continued, "Bowan, why don't you tell the rest."  
"Okay," agreed Kirt. "We blew the soldiers sky high, but just as we turned to watch my men noticed a figure running away from the explosion. When it was safe to go back, I sent two men in the direction of the running figure and the rest of us combed the remains of the hut where the soldiers were, looking for the map. But about fifteen minutes later my first two men came back, and they had it."  
"Yes!" Zol exclaimed.  
"Apparently one of the soldiers had escaped the explosion and made off with the map. But he was badly wounded and was found asleep behind some rocks or something. Hidden inside his coat was this..." There was a second or so pause, and then several exclamations.  
"Wow! Unbelievable! And he even made copies!"  
Lyla peered around the doorframe and saw all the men in the dining room huddled over something on the table. She couldn't see what it was, but she guessed it was the map. Then Zol spoke, and Lyla quickly ducked out of sight.  
"What became of the soldier?"  
"Well," Bowan replied, "Let's just say he went to sleep and never woke up!" He laughed; a deep throaty laugh.  
"So Zol," Delfire said. "Now that we have the map, we just have to find the treasure, and then we can share in its unmeasurable riches!"  
"You already are rich, Kormand," Zol said. The talking stopped, and Lyla heard some quiet scuffles, followed by a loud bang.  
"Sorry," someone said.  
"Yes Kormand," Zol spoke again. "You were a rich man. You got me this far. Now I do not need you, and you do not need any more money. It works out better this way."  
Lyla looked down and saw a trail of blood slowly seeping out into the hallway. She quickly moved her foot to avoid getting it on herself, but in doing so she lost her grip on the large glass decanter she was carrying, and it fell to the ground, smashing into a million pieces with a huge crash.  
"What was that," someone in the dining room asked, but Lyla didn't wait to find out who. She sprinted down the hall, made a sharp right and hid in a small alcove that was sometimes used for storage. Thankfully now it was empty. Trying to keep hidden, Lyla peered out into the corridor, and saw Zol and four other men examining the glass smithereens.   
"Someone's been listening," one of them said. They all turned and looked down the seemingly empty hallway, and then headed across towards the kitchen. Lyla knew that if she remained hidden she would be safe, but on impulse she quietly ran back down the hallway and went into the dining room. What she saw shocked her, and Lyla did not get shocked that easily.  
Delfire, along with six other men were still sitting on their chairs, as if nothing had happened. But the amount of blood covering them and everything around them suggested otherwise. Lyla wondered how these people could make so much blood. She saw an old piece of paper on the table, and went over to examine it. It was definitely a map of some sorts, but it must have been important enough for Zol to kill over it. Lyla saw a couple of newer pieces of paper, onto which the map had been copied out. She quickly took one, folded it and hid it in one of her pockets before deciding to leave the room of death before Zol returned. But it was too late.  
"What do you think you're doing?" exclaimed Bowan, at the same time as Zol said, "Get her, men!"  
  



	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO  
  
The rain continued on for hours, transforming the Kokiri Forest from idyllic hideaway to sopping mess. Link was bored out of his mind, and after he braved the rain to go back to Saria's house, now he and Saria were bored. They sat at the table, so that they were facing each other. Link was leaning right back in his chair with his legs outstretched, and Saria was sitting upright. They both weren't saying anything. Link thought about Zelda. He hadn't seen her in a while, and he wanted to visit her. Saria thought about Mido, and how she was going to say "no!" to him.   
"Hey," Link said, breaking the silence. "I want to see Zelda..."  
"That's nice for you," Saria interrupted. She didn't want Link to leave her alone while she was so bored.  
"Hang on, I thought we could both go."  
Saria looked surprised. "But I'm Kokiri."  
"You're also the Sage of Forest. You're different, you have certain powers," Link argued. When he had an idea, he always wanted other people to try it out.  
"But how do I know if I can leave or not?" Saria asked, unsure.  
"Remember the Chamber of the Sages? That's not in the Kokiri Forest. You can go anywhere you want to!"  
"I guess..." Saria agreed.  
"So let's go!"  
Saria let Link drag her out the house, and then they both ran to the exit from the forest. The rain had subsided into a light drizzle. They stood on the bridge that led out of the forest, when Saria hesitated. She still wasn't sure if she would be able to make it outside, yet ever since Link had first left the forest, she had often wondered about the adventures he had outside. She was very curious and even a bit jealous of the stories that he told her.  
"Well come on!" said Link, waiting for her to go first. Saria paused, still debating in her head as to whether she should go or not.  
"Are you still worried?" Link asked. Saria nodded.  
"Look, you'll be fine. Here, take my hand," Link extended his arm, but Saria still didn't take it.  
"I - I can't," she said. She felt like she was going to cry. Link didn't know what to say.  
"Please go," said Saria. "Don't stay here because of me." Then she turned and fled back inside the forest to her house, leaving a bewildered Link standing at the entrance. He was a little disappointed because he'd been looking forward for some time to taking Saria into the outside world. Still, he knew that she'd be really embarrassed and was probably upset, and so he decided to go and visit Zelda anyway. He just wouldn't stay for long. With this decision, Link turned and left the Kokiri Forest.  
  
***  
  
Saria sat down on her bed and burst into tears. An opportunity to do the one thing she'd always wanted to do was given to her, and she couldn't even take it. And worse, she'd disappointed her best friend. If only she had been able to just summon up the courage. Of course she'd left the forest before, when she went to the Chamber of the Sages, so why couldn't she do it again? Saria felt very weak and upset and annoyed with herself, and spent the rest of the afternoon inside her house.  
  
***  
  
The now-familiar trek to Hyrule Castle had taken Link no time, and he was so happy to see the Princess Zelda again. Likewise, she was also happy to see him, and she managed to convince the castle cook to whip up a scrumptious afternoon tea. The weather outside was still quite dreary, but Link didn't mind being inside the luxurious castle. Zelda, on the other hand, was bored with the place and wanted to run outside with Link. However she was content enough to just spend time with him. Even her father, the king, had joined them for tea.   
Link really liked Zelda's father, however there was such an aura surrounding the royal man that Link made an effort to sit up straight, talk properly and eat nicely whenever he was around the king.  
"So, Link," the king began. "How's life down your end of Hyrule?"  
"Uh, fine sir," Link replied. Immediately the king began laughing, but it was the kind of laugh that made you feel like joining in.  
"Link, please, no formalities. Any friend of Zelda here is a part of the family!"  
This time it was Zelda's turn to giggle. "Tee hee, you should call him daddy as well!"   
Despite the good humor, Link felt a bit embarrassed. "Okay... daddy," he said, trying to make a bit of a joke. Both Zelda and her father laughed again.   
"You're so funny," said Zelda, but Link didn't understand why. Zelda could be a bit weird like that. She also called him 'cute' sometimes, even though at 13 he was a year older than she was and a bit taller. He didn't understand how he could be cute. He certainly didn't see himself as being cute. Link just settled for the fact that Zelda could act a bit strange sometimes.  
Just then a young man came sprinting into the room. He looked tired, and spoke in between gasping for air.  
"Sire," he said, "I have something I think you should see."  
"Why certainly Jamie," the king replied, sensing something important. He immediately stood up.   
"Sorry, kids," he said. "I'll have to leave you on your own now." He turned and followed the young man, Jamie, out of the room.  
Link looked at Zelda. She was staring at him with a wicked glint in her eyes.   
"What?" he asked.  
"I know what we can do," she said. "Let's go and spy on the adults doing their important business!"  
"Won't your father get mad?" Link asked, unsure. He didn't want to get into the king's bad books.  
"No, he might get annoyed, but I'll just say that I wanted to know the sort of business that I might have to do one day!"  
"You're too good," said Link.  
Zelda led Link to her father's office. The door had been left open a crack, and Zelda and Link hid next to the door, so that they could peer around and see what was going on. The king was talking quite seriously.  
"So what is it about the Army Group Three mission? The last report I heard was that all men had been killed and that the map had been stolen, and that this was the work of some as yet unknown group."  
"Well, yes, that's right," Jamie agreed, "However, the corpses, or rather remains of corpses, were brought back into town this morning so that they could be given a proper burial by the families. Anyway, one of the men, Talle Dewsith, do you know him?"  
"No, I didn't," the king replied.  
"Well, it turned out that his body wasn't too badly damaged. His family wanted to bury him in his favorite suit. And when they undressed him, they found this hidden in an unusual spot."  
"The map?" asked the king, gasping.  
"Not quite," said Jamie. He pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. Link and Zelda were too far away to see what it was.  
"He must have been making a secret copy!" The king exclaimed.  
"That's what we think."  
"How funny," the king mused. "This man was doing something illegal, and yet now I am thanking him for it!"  
"I agree. But what I wanted to say was that I am sure that the party who stole the map is going to be after the treasure as soon as they can. We must hurry if we want to protect it. This map is going to be the only help that they can get."  
Zelda looked at Link, her mouth wide open. "Wow," she whispered.  
"So who do you propose we send?" The king asked.  
"I thought maybe a team of our best soldiers," Jamie replied.   
"That sounds good," the king said. "Imagine that they really found it. After being lost for hundreds of years!"  
"It would be great," Jamie said. "But we must get to it first!"  
  
***  
  
After a while Saria stopped crying and lay on her bed, still feeling angry and depressed at her lack of courage. She got up and looked at herself in a small mirror that was lying on the table.  
"You could do better," she told herself firmly, staring into the reflection of her own eyes. And then she made a decision. "And you are going to do better," she stated. She paused, and then said it again, much louder.  
"You ARE going to do better."   
She jumped up and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. Then, before she could change her mind, she began jogging back towards the exit from the forest.   
The tunnel drew closer and closer, yet Saria didn't stop. She decided that if she stopped, she wouldn't be able to start again. When she was on the bridge, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then increased her pace. She jogged blindly for half a minute, and then sat down on the ground, still squeezing her eyes closed as she waited for the worst.  
Five minutes later, Saria was still on the ground, shaking, holding her knees against her body, with her eyes shut, but very much alive! When she realised where she was, she extended her right arm and felt the ground. It felt different to the floor of the forest, more grassier. She extended her other arm and then opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her. Behind her was the entrance to the forest. In front of her was a short passage, and to her right was the largest place she had ever seen in her life. Saria slowly stood up and began walking across the grassy plains. There were so few trees, and rocks, and the grey sky seemed to stretch on forever. She decided that it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. Patches of grass had been worn out in some places, forming long narrow paths. Saria began following one of them, and saw a signpost stuck in the dirt. It had arrows pointing in two different directions. One said Lon Lon Ranch, and pointed slightly to the left. The other said Hyrule Castle, and it pointed directly ahead. Feeling excited now that she would get to go and see him, she began following the path that lead straight ahead.  
  
***  
  
Lyla moved so that the long dining table was in between herself and the four men. Three of them had drawn long knives, and they immediately began advancing towards her. She looked left and right for a way to escape, but there was none. The large windows were covered with bars. Delfire had always been big on security. She decided to move to the right, where there was more room. Lyla's mind was rushing overtime, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. As soon as she moved, the men changed formation. Zol hung back, while the other three surrounded her, on in front, one on her right and one on her left. Lyla edged closer to the right until she approached a long, thin coat stand. She picked it up, and held it horizontally. Before she even decided to do it, she swung the stand at the man on her right. It caught him by surprise, and hit him squarely in the jaw. He was flung to the floor, and lay there, clutching his mouth in agony.   
"You'll die for that girl," said the man in the centre. Lyla recognized his voice as that of Bowan. Lyla tensed and stood poised holding the stand like a baseball bat and ready to swing. Then the attack came. Lyla expected the men to charge at her, and she was prepared to hit at them. But instead Bowan raised his knife arm behind his head and then flung it at her. The knife cut through the air at an incredible speed, headed directly for Lyla's head. At the last second she ducked out of the way.  
The men where waiting for this opportunity, and it was not until after her defense was down that they charged at her. Instantly Bowan and the other man had her pinned to the floor. Zol stood over her, and glared menacingly into her eyes for a second. All Lyla saw in the dark eyes were absolute hate and anger. Then, Zol's tall figure bent down and picked up the knife that Bowan had thrown. Lyla desperately tried to escape from the tight grip holding her to the floor, but it was no use.  



	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE  
  
"Wow, a treasure hunt!" Zelda exclaimed to Link after Jamie and the king had left together to organise the soldiers to leave as soon as possible.  
"It sounds great," Link agreed.  
"What are you talking about," Zelda said. "You always get to go and do things like this. I never get any excitement."  
Sometimes Link wasn't sure if he would describe his adventures as exciting. A lot of the time they were downright scary.   
"Anyway," Zelda continued, "I say we follow those soldiers."  
"WHAT?" Link exclaimed.  
"It can't be that hard," Zelda argued, "I mean they just have to follow a map and then see a huge treasure. Maybe we could even get some of it."  
"I don't know," Link protested.  
"You obviously haven't heard of the Royal Family's treasure before, have you?" Zelda asked. Link shook his head.  
"Well, hundreds of years ago, when gold was first discovered in Hyrule, my relatives planned to mine as much of it was possible. They wanted it so that future generations of kings and queens would have something to support them. They also wanted to ensure that Hyrule would be a wealthy and peaceful land. However, thieves from not only other lands but also Hyrule decided that they wanted to get their hands on the gold. Eventually the gold caused more trouble than it was worth, and my great-great-great-great grandfather employed someone to hide it. A single map was drawn, and he always kept it by his side. After his death, it went missing. After a while, most people thought that the gold must only be a myth."  
"So why does everybody suddenly want it now?" Link asked.  
"Well, I think that someone must have found the missing map," Zelda concluded. "It was said to be an awfully vast amount of treasure. But that's not all. There is a certain treasure hidden with all the gold, a treasure that is said that if it falls into the right hands, then it can be used for extreme good. However, if it were to fall into the wrong hands, well, then the world would face an almost unstoppable force."  
"What is it?" Link asked, his mind blown away by the thought of so much treasure.  
"It is a golden suit of armour, that is meant to bring invisibility to anyone who is wearing it."  
"And you think we should go after this treasure?" Link asked again.  
"Of course! We'll follow the soldiers, and if anything bad happens to us, we'll tell them. They probably won't want to abandon this important mission just to take us back home, so they'll have to let us stay!"  
"How long do you think this will take?" Link asked, still unsure.  
"I'm sure it won't be that long. Daddy's sending his best men!"  
"Well, I guess so then," Link consented. It sounded like fun to him, and after what he had already been through, he didn't see how this could cause any harm.  
"Excellent!"  
  
***  
  
Saria had reached the castle drawbridge. She was astounded because she had never seen anything like it before, but she was also a bit intimidated. The only thing that kept her feeling brave was that she was going to go and see Link soon. She crossed the bridge and entered Hyrule Castle Town.  
The market place wasn't very busy due to the bad weather, and as it was getting later in the afternoon, most stalls were either closing or preparing to close for the night. Saria noticed a young girl who was playing with a dog, and decided to talk to her.  
"Hi," Saria said to the girl. The girl gave her a strange look and began to giggle. Saria didn't know what to say, but then the girl spoke.  
"Your clothes are funny," she said, "They're like that boy who sometimes comes here!"  
"Have you seen that boy?" asked Saria.  
"No," said the girl. "But he almost always goes to the castle. You should try there."  
"How do I get to the castle?"  
"Just down that path there," the girl pointed.  
"Thank you," replied Saria. The girl just giggled some more. Saria realised that this is what Link often had to put up with her. She was sure that she would get used to it, just as Link had. She turned down the path that the girl had pointed out, and approached the castle.  
  
***  
  
Lyla gulped and drew in a deep breath, fearful that it would be her last. But then, as her eyes wandered to the sharp knife being dangled in front of her, she noticed that the man Zol wasn't holding it properly. He looked almost uncomfortable with it. His hand was kind of twisted and disfigured, like it had been broken and never healed properly. Lyla didn't realise that she had hit on the truth. Many years ago Zol had been injured in a rock fall, and his right hand had been crushed. He had only regained about half of the feeling in it. However, Zol was too enraged and just wanted her dead to notice it right then. And although his right hand was injured, he still used it better than his left hand.  
Lyla loosened her muscles to pretend that she had given up and accepted her fate. Zol raised his arm higher, and then brought the knife down towards her throat. As it was deadly close, Lyla jerked her head to the side as far as she could, and Zol's knife slammed into the hard wooden floor, missing Lyla by centimeters.  
"Aaaagggggghhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed as the pain reverberated up his arm. The yell was so loud that it made Bowan and the other man jump, and they loosened their grips. Lyla jumped up and darted out the door before the men had even realised. She sprinted down the long passageway until she reached a side exit. She slammed the door shut behind her and ran down a steep hill, leaping over the waist-high stone wall. Lyla ran as fast as she possibly could go and didn't even want to look back to see if she was being pursued.  
Bowan immediately dashed out the door after the fleeing girl, however Zol stopped him.  
"Let her go," he ordered sharply, still in severe pain. "She will not be a problem to our overall plan. We should concentrate and go after the treasure that our good friend over here..." he gestured to Delfire's corpse, "... has provided."  
"Yessir," the other men agreed.  
  
***  
  
When the Jamie and the king's soldiers had departed half and hour later, Zelda and Link made their way to the front of the castle, planning to follow them. However, they did not expect a surprise visitor.  
"Hey," someone called out as they rushed past. They usually would have ignored it in this kind of situation, but Link recognised the voice and turned around.  
"Saria?" he asked.  
"The one and only," the small Kokiri replied, a huge grin on her face.  
"But you came out... you're here... what the?" Link was astounded.  
"Yes, I was an idiot before and I didn't want you to feel bad so I decided to surprise you.  
"Okay!" Link was happy that Saria had finally made it out of the forest. He always knew that she'd be okay.   
Zelda on he other hand didn't like the delay. "Ahem," she said, trying to get Link's attention.  
"Oh yeah!" Link exclaimed. "Zelda, this is my best friend Saria. And Saria, this is Zelda, Princess of Hyrule."  
The girls shook hands. "It's nice to finally meet you," Saria said.  
"Yes, I've heard a lot about you," Zelda replied.  
"Likewise," Saria agreed."  
"But Link, we'd better hurry before we lose the soldiers. Saria can come, just explain it on the way!"  
"Yeah." Zelda and Link began jogging, and Saria followed them, confused.   
"What are we doing?" she yelled.  
"Hang on," Link yelled. "I'll tell you soon."  
They ran further, but there was no sign of the soldiers at all.   
"We lost them!" exclaimed Zelda in despair.   
"Well they were on horses remember," said Link. "It would have been hard to keep up with them anyway."  
Zelda felt annoyed with Saria for holding them up, but she decided to keep it to herself. In silence, the three of them turned around and began to head back to the castle.  
"What was that all about?" asked Saria, still confused.  
"It doesn't matter any more," replied Zelda, feeling downcast.  
"We were going to follow some soldiers, because they were going to find some treasure," said Link.  
"Oh," Saria replied. She thought that it sounded like it would have been fun. The three kept walking back towards the castle, taking it slowly because they didn't know what they were going to do anymore.   
Saria was still fascinated by the world outside the forest, and she gazed across Hyrule Field in amazement. As she looked across to one of the hills to see the sun begin to set behind the clouds, she noticed a small figure moving. However, she didn't pay any attention because she was enchanted by the way that the setting sun had turned some of the distant clouds a beautiful pinkish-orange colour.  
"Wow, would you look at that," she said. Link and Zelda looked up.  
"Yeah, what is that?" Link asked.  
Saria gave him a weird look. "This is the first full sunset I have ever seen," she said.  
"Too bad it's cloudy," Zelda replied, at the same time as Link said, "No, I meant, who is that?"  
They all looked as the figure had drawn much closer, and now they could see it was a person. They got closer and closer and soon saw that the person was running, and soon they saw it was a girl. Then, finally, the girl approached them, getting closer and closer. Link, Saria and Zelda all stopped and watched her. The girl ran until she was about five meters away from them, and then she stopped, and collapsed to the ground, turning her head to look in the direction that she had just come from. She didn't say a word; she probably couldn't because she was desperately panting to catch her breath.   
"Are you all right?" Saria asked, her voice full of concern. The girl looked up at her but was still breathing heavily. She nodded. Although she was sitting on the ground, she seemed to be quite tall. She had long brown hair that was now messy and windblown from running, and her blue-green eyes showed signs of exhaustion. However, the thing that the three children noticed the most was her clothes. Actually, they were more like rags than clothes. Nothing more than just a thin, tattered pair of thin pants, and an equally thin shirt. In one hand she tightly clasped a rolled up piece of paper, which caught Link's attention, but before he could get a good look at it, she climbed to her feet.  
"Are you okay?" Saria repeated.   
"Yes, I'm fine now," the girl replied, looking at the three children who were staring at her as if she had fallen from out of the sky.  
Saria didn't believe her. "You look tired, and those clothes look awful," she said.   
The girl gazed down at her rags.   
"Yeah, you're right. Do you know where I can get some new ones?" she asked.  
"Why don't you come back to the town with us?" Zelda suggested.  
"Okay," the girl agreed.  
"Great. By the way, I'm Saria, this is Link, and this is Zelda," Saria introduced, pointing at Link and Zelda respectively.  
"I'm Lyla," the girl said.  
  
***  
Several hours later, Link, Saria, Zelda and Lyla sat inside Hyrule Castle eating dinner. Saria could not believe that one building could be so large. She thought of her own home back in the Kokiri Forest and compared it to Zelda's home, the castle. She could not get over the decorations and the luxurious furnishings. However, although she did not say anything, she did not really like the food. She was used to simple foods, and spicy pasta that they were eating was a bit too exotic for her tastes, because she had never eaten it before. Link, on the other hand, wasn't able to find any food that he hated eating.  
Zelda had managed to find some spare clothes for Lyla. The two girls spent about half an hour trying them on, until Lyla had settled on a pair of gray pants and a blue sleeveless top. She also had a blue woolen jumper, but she wasn't cold enough to put it on yet. She was also wearing a new pair of leather boots. Although she had tried on skirts and the simple flat shoes that most Hylian women wore, she simply did not feel comfortable in them. She had never worn a skirt in her life, and she was more at home in pants. Lyla was glad to be able to say goodbye to her flimsy old clothes, and was forever grateful to Zelda, who had said that she owed her nothing. Lyla could not believe that the princess of Hyrule could be so... nice to someone unimportant like her.   
"Hey, what's that?" Link asked, pointing to the folded piece of paper that Lyla had placed on the table next to herself.  
"Oh, it's just something I found," Lyla replied.  
"Can I look at it?"  
"Sure."  
Link grabbed the paper, opened it, and when he looked at the contents, his eyes opened wide.  
"What is it?" asked Zelda, leaning over. Saria got up and stood behind Link, and all three of them studied the paper.  
"I think it's a map," Link said.  
"Yeah, it's a map," Lyla replied, remembering what she had heard Delfire and his men talking about. "It's supposed to lead to some treasure or something."  
"Do you know anything else about it?" asked Zelda.  
"Well, it was stolen from some soldiers by my ex boss. He gave it to some other men, but then they killed him, because they wanted the treasure for themselves. I overheard them, and when they realised that, they tried to kill me. I managed to grab this, which is actually only a copy of the real thing, and then I escaped. I didn't stop until I met you guys in the field."  
Link and Saria were speechless.  
"Do you know who the other men were?" asked Zelda.  
"Not really, I think one was called Zol and one was called Bowan, but there were a couple more."  
"I see." Zelda looked at everyone. "I think that this is the same treasure that my father is after. I can tell by that symbol there..." Zelda pointed to the crest of the Royal Family of Hyrule. "Anyway, dad's soldiers only had an incomplete copy, but look at this one! I reckon we should go after it. We might beat the soldiers to it!!!"  
"Whoa Zelda, I think you're getting a bit too excited. The soldiers left hours ago. And besides, if they do find the treasure, it's basically yours anyway. Why are you so desperate to find it?" Link asked.  
"You wouldn't understand," Zelda said in a sulky voice. "You always get to go off on your little adventures, while I'm stuck here, being a princess and having to act all posh and proper all day. You have no idea how much I'd give to be like you."  
"I do," Saria added. "I feel the same, whenever you left the forest, I'd wonder what you were doing, and if you were okay." She didn't add the fact that she really wanted Link to agree that they should go and hunt for the treasure.  
"But won't your father..."  
"Link, he'll get over it. It won't take long if we follow the map."  
"Well, if you're sure..."  
"I AM sure."  
"Well, okay then."  
"Yes!" yelled Saria. Everyone turned to look at her. She placed her hand over her mouth. "Oops," she said.  
Zelda had a serious look on her face now. "Lyla, since it's your map, I would say that it's only fair if you came along. That is, unless you don't want to, or if anyone disagrees."  
"Well it's better than cleaning ponds," Lyla said. No one disagreed with Zelda's statement.  
"Okay," she said. "I'll go and grab some food. Link, can you help me?"  
Link and Zelda disappeared down the hall, leaving Saria and Lyla alone together.  
"Hey, Lyla," Saria asked, "How old are you?"  
"Seventeen," Lyla replied.  
"Hey, that's the same age Link was when... oh, don't worry. You know, your hair is really pretty."  
"Thank you," Lyla smiled at Saria.  
"I wish I could grow my hair that long, but it never seems to get past my shoulders."  
"I'm sure it would if you gave it some time," Lyla said.  
"No, I don't think so. Nothing about me really grows. I don't grow, my hair doesn't grow, but I don't care."  
"Of course you'll grow," Lyla disagreed. "You've got nothing to worry about."  
"Don't you know, Kokiri remain children all of their lives."  
"You're Kokiri?" Lyla was surprised. "But I've never seen one, I mean, I heard that they lived in the forest and they couldn't come out."  
"Well, usually," Saria replied. "But I'm a bit different."  
Lyla was about to ask why when Link and Zelda returned. Zelda dumped a pile of blankets on the ground, and Link dropped an even larger pile of food and water.  
"I figure if we split this up and carry a bit each, it won't be that hard to carry," Zelda said. She had inherited her organising skills from her father. It was the skill that made him a good king.  
"Okay," the others agreed, sharing out the items.  
"And Lyla, you look old enough, so we'll just tell the guards that my father asked you to accompany us when we try and leave the castle."   
With that, the four of them prepared to leave. Saria was jumping with uncontrollable excitement, Zelda couldn't believe how bold she was being, Link felt tired, and Lyla felt happy. She was finally free from her boring life, she had met people who were actually nice to her, and she was about to do something interesting.  
  



	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR  
  
Jamie led his team of ten soldiers up Death Mountain. According to the map, they were supposed to climb in and descend on the other side. Their horses could not make it up the steep paths, and Jamie reluctantly had to order that they leave them behind. It would slow their progress, however now it was necessary. They had passed several large caves and were now approaching the summit. Jamie glanced down at his men. None of them seemed to be suffering from fatigue, which was fortunate. He looked back down again, and then stopped.  
"Halt!" her ordered his men. They froze on the spot. Jamie looked at them and counted. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...nine? There were meant to be ten.  
"Is everyone here?" Jamie called out. The men glanced around at each other for a few seconds before someone called out, "Falon's missing, sir."   
"Do you know what happened to him?" asked Jamie. The men shook their heads, made visible in the dark by the soft light of the lantern that Jamie tried to shine down the trail.   
"FALON!" he called out. "ARE YOU THERE?" He paused for a few seconds, waiting for a response that never came.  
"FALON!"  
His voice echoed down the sides of Death Mountain. Jamie looked back at his men. "He's definitely not here?" he asked.  
"No, sir," the soldiers replied.  
"Well," Jamie sighed, "We have to continue on. There's not a whole lot we can do. I only hope that he decided to head home."  
"I'm sure that's what happened sir," one of the men agreed. The resumed their march and headed back up the mountain.  
  
***  
  
Once again, Link and Zelda were huddled over the treasure map. This time, however, they were in Hyrule Field, having made it out past the guards relatively easily.   
"That leads over Death Mountain," said Link, "I'm sure of it."  
"Well," Zelda replied. "Over Death Mountain it is then!"  
"Okay," said Link.  
They marched on until they reached the border of Hyrule Field. Link knew the way well. As they approached the trail leading up the mountain to Kakariko Village, and further on up Death Mountain, they were surprised to find several horses roaming around. Zelda walked over to one and looked at it.  
"These are my father's horses," she stated. "I can tell by the saddles, and the ornaments. He lets his soldiers use them."  
"Didn't he send some soldiers out earlier after this same treasure?" asked Saria.  
"Yes," replied Zelda. "These must be their horses, but why would they just leave them here alone?"  
"The horses can't climb the mountain," said Link. "Well, Epona can't and she's a strong horse, so these one's probably can't as well. It's pretty steep on some parts of the trail."  
"You've been here before?" Lyla asked Link.  
"Yeah, I've climbed the mountain, but I've never gone over it before."  
"Wow!" Lyla looked at the boy in amazement. She couldn't imagine a thirteen-year-old climbing all the way up to the top, but then she looked at Zelda and Saria, and wondered if they would be able to make it. Link seemed to think so, and so they continued.   
"We'll have to go through Kakariko," said Link when he saw the entrance to the village. "It's the easiest way up."  
As it was night, the village was deserted. One house had its lights on, but the rest of the place was eerily quiet.  
"There's a graveyard just over there," Link pointed, taking advantage of the mood.  
"Don't tell me that," Saria said. Sometimes her imagination could go overboard, and she freaked herself out. Link laughed in a fake evil voice. To Saria's relief, though, they didn't need to go near the graveyard, and instead climbed a staircase that led to a wide-open gate.  
"That's weird," Link said. "Usually there's a guard here, even at night."  
"There is," Lyla said.  
"What?"  
Leaning against one of the buildings near the gate was a guard, who was fast asleep. His mouth was wide open, and he was mumbling to himself. His head drooped over forwards and his spear lay about five feet in front of him. He also carried a sword, however that too lay on the ground. When Link, Saria and Lyla began walking up Death Mountain Trail, Zelda went over and picked up the sword.   
"This may come in handy," she said, but really she wanted to be like Link. She quickly jogged up the trail and caught up with the others, who assumed she'd been there the whole time.  
"What's that place," Lyla asked, looking at a huge cave.  
"That's Dodongo's Cavern," Link replied.  
"Can we look inside?" Saria asked.  
"No, we'd lose time," Zelda answered.  
"Plus you might not like it in there," Link added. "I didn't really."  
"You've been everywhere!" Lyla exclaimed. "Have you been there?" They were now hiking past Goron City.  
"Yeah."  
"That's Link for you," Zelda said. "He's always off having these adventures, traveling around Hyrule. But that's what you'd expect I guess, him being the Hero of Time and all."  
"The Hero of what?" Lyla asked. She was very impressed by Link, who seemed to be a lot older than he actually was.  
"Never mind," said Link, taking the lead. The trail began to get steeper and narrower, and they had to leap across some large boulders. Then it leveled off for a bit, however they four of them could see that at the end it reached an almost vertical wall. The flat ground relieved Saria, as her legs were beginning to kill her. She wasn't used to this kind of physical activity. As she caught her breath, something hard hit her on the head.  
"Ow!" she exclaimed.  
"What is it?" asked Link, turning around. Then something hard bounced off his head as well. He looked down to see a small rock strike the ground. Then he heard a rumbling sound that quickly grew louder.  
"Oh no," he said. He threw his shield at Saria, who caught it. "Use this to protect your head."  
"Okay, but what is it?"  
"You two, put your bags over your heads like I've done," Link said, holding his bag over his head. "It's a rock fall!"   
Zelda and Lyla copied Link, hoping that the food and bedding inside their bags would be enough to cushion the impact of any falling rocks. They started to run, dodging small boulders that suddenly appeared in their paths. The dust stirred up by the rocks limited their visibility. As Zelda ran, a huge rock fell straight in front of her, and she quickly jumped out of the way, only to trip over another rock that she didn't see. She fell hard, jarring her entire body.  
"GET UP!" Link screamed. Zelda forced herself to her feet and ran towards Link, just in time because only a second after she got up, a large stone slammed into the ground where she had been lying.   
Saria was out of breath and the amount of dust in the air choked her. She heard several dull clangs as rocks bounced off the shield she held over her head, and she hoped that the large ones wouldn't hit her. She felt totally alone because she couldn't see any of the others, and she began to feel scared.  
"Link?" she yelled. "Where are you."  
"I'm here Saria," said Link. "Just keep going, we've nearly made it."  
Saria felt relieved and continued running. After a few more minutes that seemed like an eternity to everyone, the dust began to clear, the rumbling sound ceased, and most importantly, the rocks stopped falling. The four of them all stopped to catch their breath and waited for the dust to clear. As everyone's figures came into view, Zelda heard Link gasp.  
'What's wrong?" she asked.  
"Oh, it's nothing," Link replied, "Stay where you are."  
Zelda however, didn't listen, and she walked towards Link's voice. Saria and Lyla followed her, when suddenly the dust cleared some more, and right under their eyes the figure of a man came into view. He was lying on the ground, however they could only see less than half of him. The other half was buried under a large boulder. Link bent down to feel the man's pulse, and then stood up and shook his head. Zelda and Saria just stood there with their mouths wide open. They had never seen a dead person before, however finally Zelda recovered her composure.  
"That's one of father's soldiers," she said.  
"Come on, let's keep going," Link said.  
  
***  
  
It had been over an hour since Jamie and his soldiers had climbed over the summit of Death Mountain. Although they were all physically fit men, Jamie decided that it would probably be the best for them to get some sleep. They quickly set up their camp, and soon many of them were fast asleep. Jamie lay awake for a while and thought about their situation. He didn't want to let the king down, and he certainly didn't want the Royal Family's treasure to be stolen by somebody else. They had lost a unit of men to these unknown strangers because of this treasure, and Jamie wanted to ensure that they wouldn't lose anything else to them. So far, they hadn't seen anybody else on their hike. Apart from a brief encounter with some falling rocks, their journey had so far been harmless. Jamie's last thought before he drifted off into sleep was that he hoped no one was following them.  
  
***  
  
"Come on, Saria, you can make it!" Link shouted to his best friend, as she climbed the steep vertical wall up Death Mountain. He stood with Lyla looking over the edge. Zelda had nearly made it to the top, and with a bit of effort she managed to pull herself up. Saria, however, seemed to be struggling.  
"I'm going to fall," Saria said, so quietly that Link nearly missed it.  
"No you're not," he said firmly. "Look, you're almost there. I've been knocked off this wall before, and trust me, you won't like falling." Link shuddered, remembering his encounter with a Skullwalltula spider monster.   
Lyla meanwhile, was rummaging around in her bag. When she found what she was looking for, she jumped up and threw the end of several meters of rope down to Saria.   
"Grab the rope," Lyla called down. "Hold it while you're climbing."  
Saria took the rope and firmly grasped it in her right hand, grateful for the security. With her confidence boosted, she scaled to the top in no time, and was pulled over by Lyla.   
"Thank you," Saria said while pausing to catch her breath.  
"Wow, so this is the top," Zelda said gazing at the amazing panoramic view of Hyrule that surrounded her.   
"It would be great to see this in the daytime," Saria said. "I had no idea that Hyrule was so big. I mean, I thought the Lost Woods were huge!"  
Link laughed. "I have wanted to show you this for a long time, Saria."  
Lyla had wandered into a nearby cave. She felt a bit left out with the younger three. She could see that Link and Saria shared a very tight bond; they were the best of friends. And for some reason, she felt that Link and Zelda also shared a deep understanding, like they had been through a very tough experience together. She knew that Saria and Zelda had only recently met, but they already shared something in common, and that was Link. Lyla thought that Link seemed a lot older than the other two, more like he was her age. He was surprisingly mature for a thirteen-year-old boy, and he boasted a strength and knowledge and was far beyond his age. Yet, he was also down to earth and had a sense of humor that did suit his age. She found herself liking him as soon as she met him; in fact she also liked Zelda and Saria as well. As the map was hers, and also because she was the oldest, Lyla began to feel responsible for them as well. She went back outside to see what they were doing.   
"Let's keep going!" Zelda said excitedly.  
"We'll have to be careful," Link said, "Because there's a narrow ledge here, and it's the only way down. Just take it slowly and we should be right. I've never been on this side of Death Mountain before!"  
Link took the lead, with Zelda following him, Saria behind and finally Lyla at the rear. On one side of them was a sheer drop over the edge of the cliff. Some parts of the trail were very narrow, and the four of them flattened themselves against the sides of the mountain as they descended. Eventually, the trail got wider and wider, until it was more like the trail the led to Goron City. In the distance, Saria spotted a clearing up ahead. Link noticed it too.  
"That looks like a campsite," he said.  
"Shh," whispered Lyla. "I hope it's not those bad men who want the treasure as well."   
They crept over to the tents, where the loud sound of several men snoring cut through the still night air. Zelda recognized the crest of the Royal Family of Hyrule on the sides of the tents.  
"They're the soldiers!" she exclaimed. Link, Lyla and Saria let out their breath in relief.   
"Should we camp here?" Saria asked, because she was starting to feel tired, and the sight of the tents made her realize it.  
"No way!" Zelda exclaimed. "If they see us here, they might send us home. I think we should keep going, because it would be so funny to beat them to the treasure. Imagine what my dad would think!"  
They crept past the tents. The sleeping men inside never heard them, and they continued down the mountain. After another hour or so, Saria began to lag behind, and the others were stifling yawns.   
"Maybe we should stop," Link suggested. "There's a cave up ahead, and I think we should have some sleep in there."  
"I agree," said Saria enthusiastically.   
The entrance to the cave was narrow, but inside it widened out and was quite large. Link and Zelda set up the bedding, and within a few minutes, the four adventurers were sound asleep.  
  



	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE  
  
In Hyrule Castle, the king was having an awful sleep. He tossed and turned, and when he was able to doze off, he had horrible nightmares. He decided to get up and have a drink of milk. He got up and made his way through the darkened castle to the kitchen, where he poured himself a glass. As he sat at the bench to drink it, he thought of Zelda.  
"That's odd," he muttered. "She didn't say goodnight to me."  
Every night for as long as he could remember, Zelda had insisted on saying goodnight to him. It was their nightly ritual, but because the king had been so wrapped up with the treasure business, he had completely forgotten about it. He decided to go and check on her.   
The king's slippers made a soft scuffing sound on the stone floors as he walked to Zelda's room. Just as he was about to open the door, the door from across the hall opened and Impa emerged, rubbing her eyes.  
"Hi Impa," the king whispered.   
"What are you doing this late at night?" Impa asked in a tired voice.   
"I couldn't sleep, and I decided to check on Zelda," he replied.   
"She's sleeping," Impa replied. "She had some friends around this afternoon, and I think they tired her out and she went to bed early. I haven't hardly seen her all afternoon or evening."  
"I guess you're right," the king replied. "I should really get to bed anyway. I've got a big day tomorrow."  
"Okay," Impa said. "Night."  
"Good night."   
The king, having had his mind put at ease, went back to bed and enjoyed a perfect sleep for the rest of the night.  
  
***  
  
Zelda awoke to the feeling of something crawling on her face. She sat upright and brushed something off her face, and let out a small cry when a bat flew off her face. Saria, next to her, opened her eyes and couldn't believe what she saw. On the roof above her head, were hundreds of bats, and as Zelda's bat was disturbed and fluttered upwards, it disturbed the other bats, and soon hundreds of bats were flying around the cave.   
Link and Lyla woke up, as Zelda and Saria tried to cover themselves under their bed covers. Link grabbed his sword and began swinging it at the annoying bats, but it didn't make much difference. Covering her face, Lyla picked up her blanket and swung it in the air, whipping the bats and sending them off in different directions. Link got the same idea and began using his own blanket. Shortly, the cave was empty of bats, minus a couple that were lying motionless on the floor.   
"Yuck," said Lyla. "Bats are disgusting."  
"I can still feel one on my face," Zelda said, as she and Saria got out of bed. Link's and Lyla's hair were messed up from bats flying into it and getting tangled. Lyla pulled a comb out of her bag, but Link just used his hands to smooth his hair down.   
"Did you see where they went?" Link asked. The others shook their heads.   
"Well," Link said, "Only a few went out the front. The rest of them flew towards the back, and I think that the cave goes back further."  
"Can we explore it?" Saria asked.  
Link loved exploring caves and new places, and before Zelda could protest about them leaving the trail, he had found a small tunnel and was heading down it.  
The tunnel looked as though it was man made, as no natural tunnel could be so straight and the same for so long. It continued downwards for hundreds of meters, veering slightly to the right. It was dark and hot, but thankfully Zelda lit a lantern. It was quite narrow and tight, and Lyla, the tallest, had to stoop slightly as she walked so that she didn't scrape her head against the rough ceiling.   
In the front, Link stopped suddenly. The others behind reacted too late, and they crashed into each other, sending Link falling headfirst into a wooden cart.   
"Wow what's that?" Saria asked.   
Link clambered out of the cart. "That's why I stopped," he said.   
Zelda passed the torch to Link and they inspected the cart. It was quite plain and almost crudely fitted together. Saria looked at Link and burst out laughing.  
"Your hat is covered in dust!"  
Link reached up and tried to brush the dirt of his hat. When he looked at his hand, it shimmered in the light of the lantern.   
"Hey!" he exclaimed. He showed Zelda.  
"That looks like gold dust," she said. Link shined the light inside the cart, and they looked at the inside, which was covered in gold dust.  
"This must have been used to carry gold!" Zelda exclaimed. "Maybe we are near the treasure, although we're not according to the map."  
They increased their speed going down the rest of the tunnel, until it opened up to reveal a large cavern. Wooden beams supported the ceiling, and there were several more wooden carts around the place. The walls were covered in holes, and there were several more tunnels leading off in different directions. The air was stale and old, and it had a damp, musty smell.   
"This place is great!" Saria exclaimed.   
"I think we are in an old gold mine," Zelda said. Although none of them had ever seen one before, it was a correct assumption.  
"Wow," Link said. He imagined the men who must have toiled in there, hundreds of years ago, digging up gold. He felt excited, and wondered what the treasure might be like.   
"I can't wait to find the treasure now," Saria said, echoing everyone's thoughts.   
"We'd better get back to that," Zelda said. She led them up the tunnel they had come down, and eventually they found their way out into daylight.   
It was a beautiful day in Hyrule; all of the previous day's bad weather had blown away. The four travelers squinted as their eyes adjusted to the light after being down in the cave for so long. The land around them was deserted, and they were surprised to see that they were near the bottom of Death Mountain. The land on the other side of the mountain was more rugged, with many rocks and hills scattered across an area similar in size to Hyrule Field.   
"The map says we should go straight across this area," Zelda said after examining it for a moment.   
The discovery of the abandoned gold mine had renewed their energy, and they made fantastic progress across the rough terrain. Around midday, they stopped to eat, and then set off again. They could see in the distance that they were approaching a river, which was marked on the map.   
  
***  
  
"Finally, we're off Death Mountain," Jamie commented as he led his men to the foot of the mountain. Like Link, Zelda, Saria and Lyla before them, they were amazed to see the landscape on the other side. With only a brief hesitation, they continued along the trail that was marked on the incomplete map.   
  
***  
  
"The question is, how do we get across?" Link asked, staring at the wide, rushing river in front of him. It was full of jagged rocks that turned parts of the river into white water rapids.   
"We can't turn back now," Zelda said after failing to think of a way across.  
"Do we still have a rope?" Link asked. Lyla took it out of her bag and handed it to him.   
"Maybe we could throw it over that stump over there," Link said, tying the end into a circle. "It should be long enough." He swung the end of the rope around his head lasso-style, and then threw it towards the tree stump. It missed, landing in the rushing water. He hauled it in and tried again. This time the rope hit the opposite bank. After a dozen more tries, he began to feel frustrated.   
"Come on," he urged his throw, seconds before it bounced off the stump.  
"Keep going Link," Saria encouraged. "You nearly had it that time."  
Link took a deep breath to relax, and threw the rope again. It soared through the air and settled around the tree stump. Link pulled tight on it, but it held.  
"Way to go!" Zelda said. Link smiled in relief. He took the end he was holding and tied it around a tree on his side of the river. With one last tug, he made the rope taut, and then swung his weight on it.   
"Follow me!" he said. Making sure that their stuff was secure, they copied Link, and hung upside down on the rope, pulling themselves along with their arms and legs. Saria could hear the water rushing underneath her, and shut her eyes as she pulled herself along. However, it was Zelda who unexpectedly slipped and let go of the rope. She dangled upside down, her hair getting wet in the river below.   
"HELP!" she screamed. Lyla who was behind her, reached down with one arm.   
"GRAB MY ARM!" she yelled above the roar of the rushing water. Zelda reached up, and Lyla pulled until Zelda grabbed back onto the rope. Link and Saria, who had already made it across, watched nervously until Zelda and Lyla were both safely on the other side.   
"How do we get our rope back?" asked Saria.   
"Leave it," said Zelda.  
"But it's already help us twice!" Saria remembered climbing the sheer wall on Death Mountain.  
"I'll get it," said Lyla. She swung herself back onto the rope and climbed back across to the other side. She untied the end from the tree, and then, holding tightly onto the rope, she waded out into the water. The water was cold and was a lot faster that she'd anticipated, but she held onto the rope tightly, and used it to pull herself into the shore, against the flow of the current.   
During the two years that she'd worked as a servant for Kormand Delfire, Lyla had often had to life heavy items, and consequently, she was very strong, especially for a woman. She had no trouble fighting the current, and shortly joined Link, Saria and Zelda on their side of the river, dripping wet, but with the rope.  
"Thanks!" said Saria.   
"You didn't have to do that," Zelda said. "But thanks anyway."  
"I thought we'd probably need it again," Lyla replied. She was cold and wet, but she didn't complain. "Let's keep going," she said.   
  
***  
  
"Where are we now?" Saria asked Zelda later on, wanting to check on their progress. Zelda stopped and pulled out the map. Saria and Lyla leaned over to get a look, while Link had a drink of water.  
"We should be approaching this gorge soon," Zelda said, pointing to the corresponding diagram on the map. "When we get there, were not that far from the picture of the treasure chest. And the trail ends there!"  
"Wow," said Saria. "I can't wait to get there."  
"We should make it to the gorge by dark," Link said, joining them. He looked at the sky and estimated that they had about two hours of daylight left. Unfortunately, his estimate was wrong, and after another hour, the light slowly began to fade, and they were still about a mile away from the gorge.   
"Maybe we should set up camp while we can still see," Link suggested.  
"Oh, come on. Let's hurry and make it to the gorge first," Zelda said.  
"Okay."  
It was pitch black by the time they reached the gorge, which was a lot larger than it had appeared on the map. Using the light of the lantern, they set up their bedding next to a small rise of rocks that didn't really offer much protection. However, the sky was clear, and didn't seem to show any signs of bad weather. The previous night's limited amount of sleep combined with a full day of hiking had tired out all four adventurers, and they welcomed the prospect of sleep eagerly. Even before their heads hit the pillows, they were fast asleep.  
  
***  
  
The king's soldiers were traveling about an hour behind Zelda. When they reached the river, they were equally as puzzled as the others had been as to how to cross it. They carried rope, but they didn't have the idea to climb across on it. It was Jamie who decided to use their army training to do a river crossing. His idea was to form a single-file chain of men, with the strongest men at the back and the front, and to slowly make their way across the river provided it was deep enough to walk across the whole way. He ordered the men into their positions, and then they headed out into the cold water.   
The water was fast and the current was strong, and the men had to maintain a tight grip to ensure that the chain stayed intact. Fortunately, the river was shallow, and they were able to walk along the bottom. Their progress was slow but steady, until the man behind Jamie tripped on a rock that was buried in the bottom of the river. Jamie fought hard, but was pulled under as well, and he felt his grasp on the man in front loosen. He stood up and turned his head behind him to look at the chain behind him. The man who had slipped, Arnyu, was still a part of the chain, but the three men behind him had separated into their own mini chain, and they were fighting a losing battle against the current. Arnyu tried to reach out to them, but already they had slipped further downstream.   
"Let's get across to the other side," Jamie yelled. "We can't do anything at the moment!"  
They were near to the other side, and quickly made it across, worried about their colleagues. When they made it to the bank, they scrambled up and ran parallel to the river, towards the three men. The men had separated and were now getting swept downstream at an alarmingly fast rate. Arnyu pulled a rope out of his bag and threw it towards the nearest man. The man grabbed onto the rope, and Arnyu pulled with all his strength. It was hard against the current, but he slowly began to tow the man in.   
Then without warning, the rope snagged on an underwater log, and Arnyu was nearly dragged into the river. Both he and the man in the river let go of the rope. Arnyu fell forwards onto the ground, and watched helplessly as the bobbing heads disappeared off down the river. He lay on the spot, speechless, devastated at what had just happened. Jamie and the other six men slowly walked over and stood behind him. They stood silent for a moment, thinking of the men that they had just lost, and hoping that they would somehow make it safely to shore.  
"Come on," Jamie spoke in a soft voice, "There's nothing else we can do here." He picked up his gear, turned, and began walking away. Slowly, one by one, the others did the same and followed him. Arnyu was the last to leave.  
  
***  
  
Link was the first one to wake up the following morning. Once again, it was a fine, clear day, and he watched the sun rise slowly. The sunlight pouring over the dry land that surrounded the gorge made for a beautiful sight, and Link decided to get up and have a look around.   
In the daylight he was able to get a good look at the gorge. It was a lot wider and deeper than he'd realised, and although in most places it was a sheer drop to the bottom a long way below, he found a trail that they could probably negotiate down. He went back and got the map out of Zelda's bag and studied it. The trail on the map did lead down into the gorge, and it looked like the treasure was somewhere down there. He was not sure where exactly. He sat down on a small rock and gazed across the rugged land. Link realised that this was an adventure that he was enjoying. He was with people he liked, they hadn't encountered any real danger, and they were on the verge of making the most significant discovery in Hyrule's history. Not that Link was really worried about making history. His encounters with the infamous Ganondorf had already ensured that, but Link liked the idea of being one of the first people to lay eyes on the treasure in hundreds of years. He took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp morning air, and then stood up and returned back to camp. The other three were awake now, and Zelda handed him a piece of bread.  
"Breakfast?"  
"Uh, thanks," Link took the simple food and scoffed it down. He then packed up his things, and when the others were ready, he pointed out the way down the cliff that he'd found.  
"Wow, that is the biggest fall I've ever seen," said Saria, gazing over the edge.  
"Let's just hope it doesn't turn into a fall," commented Lyla.   
  
***  
  
It took two hours of careful trekking, but finally they safely made it down to the bottom of the gorge. They were all covered with dust, and Saria looked a bit tired. Link stared at her proudly. She had proven herself to be far stronger than Link had ever realised. The little Kokiri girl certainly had guts.   
Zelda pulled out some water bottles, and they had a good long drink. The water was getting a bit low, but Zelda wasn't too concerned. There was sure to be somewhere that they could refill their supply from nearby.   
"We go left along the floor of the canyon for several hundred meters," said Link, looking at the map again. "We're not that far away from it now!"   
This sentence brought excitement into the group, and they began to make their way along the rocky ground with renewed vigor. The air down there was a lot cooler than on the surface, but at least they were sheltered from the hot sun.  
Suddenly, Saria let out a loud scream. Zelda nearly jumped out of her skin.  
"Is something wrong?" asked Lyla, concerned.  
"It's... I saw...a, a snake!" Saria trembled.  
"Oh, is that all?" replied Lyla, bending down to pick up a stone. "I'll kill it if it bothers you that much."  
"Wait!" Link exclaimed. "Let me have a look."   
He crept closer to where Saria pointed, and saw a snake sleeping in a crack in the walls.  
"Great," he muttered.  
"What's so great?" asked Saria. "It's a snake!"  
"I was being sarcastic," Link replied. "It's not just any snake. It's called a Rope, and it's a very aggressive snake. I haven't seen one of these in a long long time."  
"How aggressive?" asked Saria, with the slightest hint of nervousness in her voice.  
"Well, to be honest, it's very poisonous, and if you disturb it, it will charge at you and try to attack."  
Saria gulped and took a few steps back. "I think we should be leaving now," she said.   
"Yes, just keep out of their way."  
Saria kept close to Link as they hiked down the trail. She was quite scared of snakes, because they hardly ever came into the Kokiri Forest and she'd only heard bad things about them.   
"Hey, look, there's a hole here," Lyla observed. Zelda glanced at the map.  
"The trail ends here," she said. "The treasure marking appears to be somewhere inside that wall."  
"This must be the way in!" Link said happily.  
"But, it's so small," Lyla said.  
"I'll go first with the light and have a look," said Link. He lit the lantern that they carried and got down on all fours. He shone the light into the hole and peered in.   
"There's a tunnel, but it'll be a bit of a crawl."  
"Who cares!" Zelda exclaimed. "If it leads to treasure!"  
Link entered the tunnel. He could just crawl, if he kept low. Saria and Zelda followed on their hands and knees. Lyla went last. It was a tight squeeze for her to fit through the hole, but the tunnel was a bit wider. However, she had to pull herself along on her stomach to get along the tunnel.  
"For once, I wish I was little," she remarked.  
The tunnel wasn't very long, and it opened out into a small cavern. The four of them were happy to be able to stand up again.   
"Wow, look at that," Zelda said, gazing around the cavern. The others turned and looked at the symbol carved into one of the walls.  
"What is it?" asked Saria, being the only one who didn't recognize it.  
"It's the crest of the Royal Family," Link explained.  
"Your family?" Saria asked Zelda.   
"Yes."  
"That means we must be heading the right way!" Lyla exclaimed.  
There were two more passages leading out of the cavern, and they appeared to lead in different directions, one to the left and one on the right.  
"Which way is it?" asked Lyla.  
"I don't know," replied Zelda looking at the map. "The trail ended outside this cave, and I can only see that the treasure is somewhere in here."  
"Why don't we split up?" suggested Link.  
"Okay," replied Saria.  
"I don't know," said Zelda. "We don't know where they lead, and how are we going to meet up again. Even if two of us find the treasure, the other two won't."  
"I agree," said Lyla. "It's safer to go together."  
"Well then it's a guess," said Link. "Left or right?"  
"I don't mind," replied Zelda.   
Saria picked up a small stick that was lying on the ground and placed it in between the two tunnels. She then spun it, and they all watched it slow down and eventually point to the left.  
"Left it is!" she declared. Link laughed at her enthusiasm, which resulted in Saria giving him a huge glare. They set off down the left tunnel, and were surprised to find that after a short while, there were several old torches mounted periodically on the walls down the tunnel. Zelda lit the two nearest to her using the lantern, and immediately the tunnel around them lit up. It was not nearly as narrow as the one that they had squeezed through earlier and two of them could walk side by side quite comfortably, with just enough room. The tunnel was very long, and Zelda lit each wall-mounted torch as they passed it. At first the passageway had been flat, but gradually it had become steeper, sloping downwards. Just as it had become so steep that they were nearly losing their footing, a staircase had been appropriately placed so that they could walk more easily.   
The staircase was long, but it opened out onto a small rock shelf. The shelf was on the wall of a large cavern. Everyone gasped when they looked over the edge of the shelf.  
A drop that descended into complete blackness so that it looked bottomless awaited anyone who fell off the edge. On the opposite wall of the cavern, on the other side of the drop was another shelf. It was a much larger shelf; it had to be to accommodate the huge pile of glittering treasure that sat upon it  



	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX  
  
"Why are we bothering anymore?" asked the youngest remaining soldier, Meherlet. "We should just go back home."  
"We can't," said Jamie. "We promised the king that we would find his treasure, and that's what we will do. If we turn around now, it means that anyone else who is looking for it can find it. We've already lost so much time."  
At the mention of lost time, the three men paused and remember their recent hardships. After the two soldiers had drowned in the river, Arnyu had refused to go on and went home before anyone could talk to him. They had stopped for a meal break, and because most of the food had been swept downstream with one of the men, someone had found some berries, and three of them had eaten them. The other three, Jamie, Meherlet and a man called Don had refused. They weren't exactly hungry.   
  
Within an hour of the lunch break, the men who had eaten the berries suddenly just dropped to the ground and began groaning and writhing in agony, clutching their stomachs. Moments later, they were dead.  
"I just think this trip is cursed," Meherlet said. By now, they were standing at the top of the gorge. Their incomplete map finished here.  
"I have a feeling we have to go down there," said Jamie.   
"Okay," agreed Don, and they began their descent down the steep trail.  
  
***  
  
Link, Lyla, Saria and Zelda could not take their eyes off the treasure. They stood there like dummies, mouths wide open, staring. Link was the first to drag his eyes away. He was looking for a way to get across to the treasure. The gap between shelves was far too wide for them to jump. He turned around, looking for some kind of rope or bridge, but was met by a huge blow to the head. Link barely had time to wonder why he suddenly had a headache when he fell into the depths of unconsciousness.   
  
***  
  
Everything was dark and hot. Link couldn't tell if he had his eyes open or not, but his head was throbbing. He tried to rub his head, but he couldn't move his arms. He tried again and realised that his arms were tied together.   
"Saria?" he called out into the dark. "Zelda?"  
  
Link's voice echoed back to him but there was no reply. He struggled to stand up, but was too disorientated and fell back into the dirt. Link waited for his eyes to become used to the dark, but they didn't. It was black all around.   
"Zelda?" he called out again. Still no reply. Link strained to hear, the smallest noise, anything, in the hope that he might hear his friends.   
In the deathly silence the sudden noise made Link jump.  
  
"What was that?" he whispered in case it was one of his group. He listened, and the noise came again. It was the unmistakable hissing sound of a snake.  
  
***  
  
Zelda and Saria had been shoved into the dirt, and their clothes and faces were covered in dust. A tall man dressed in black tightened the ropes that were around them, and suddenly they were helpless to move. Lyla stood still in the corner; her eyes fixed on the men that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. After they had bashed Link, they pointed a large sword at his throat.  
"We know who you are," a deep voiced man had said. Lyla recognised him, even though he was wearing a hood. "And we will kill your beloved Hero of Time if you do not surrender immediately. We want all of your equipment and your map. We don't want you finding your way out of here in a hurry."  
  
Zelda had bent down and pushed their bags towards the man. Then another one had kicked her hard, sending her crashing into Saria. Both girls went flying onto the floor, where the man who had kicked Zelda tied them up.  
  
"You have our stuff," Lyla spoke up. "Now take your treasure and let them go."  
"Well well well, if it isn't you, the servant girl who got in the way."  
"Zol, let them go," Lyla demanded again.  
"You tricked us once so how do I know that you won't do it again?" Zol paused for a moment. "I know. Take him," he pointed at the unconscious Link, "and leave him somewhere. Somewhere... dangerous! So while they're too busy trying to save his life we'll be on our way out of here." One of the men had grabbed Link by the arms and dragged him off down the long passage.  
  
"So untie them then," Lyla said.  
  
"We will, as soon as we have the treasure. As for you, well we should have killed you. But now I'm glad we didn't. You led us here, and made the journey a lot easier. Thank you for the river-crossing trick by the way. But we DO have some unfinished business."  
  
Lyla stared into his cold, evil filled eyes. She didn't say a word, but watched as Zol drew a long, thin dagger from inside his robe. He took a step towards her, and she took a step backwards. Zol laughed.  
"You've got nowhere to go, servant girl."  
  
Lyla looked behind her and gasped. She was only meters from the edge. The other two men were blocking the door. She looked back down the apparently bottomless drop. Zol stalked closer and closer, taking his time and enjoying her panic.   
Lyla's mind was racing at a frantic pace. What should she do? Fight back? Accept her fate? Kick him? Punch him? If only she had a sword or a weapon. Kick him?  
She looked back down at the dark drop, and then turned around, took a deep breath, and jumped.  
  



End file.
